May 24, 2018

Washington — Business Roundtable today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to launch an investigation into automobile and automotive parts imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962:

“The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have harmed the U.S. economy, resulting in higher costs on U.S. businesses and consumers, and exposing U.S. exporters to foreign retaliation. Imposing such tariffs on automobile and automotive parts imports would only make things worse.

“Using ‘national security’ arguments under Section 232 to investigate and potentially impose tariffs on auto imports doubles down on a bad precedent for U.S. trade policy. It undermines our nation’s credibility in the global community, weakens the international trading system, and emboldens other countries to use ‘national security’ to limit U.S. goods and services exports to their markets.”